Trapped
by PurplePaperPrincess
Summary: Dai wants to be free from the life she feels she is trapped in. Her only escape are her dreams...And she dreams of Tortall.


Disclaimer: The world of Tortall belongs to and was created by Tamora Pierce. I do not make any money from writing this story, and it is meant for pure entertainment. Anything not recoginzed from Tamora Pierce's books (i.e. Dai) was created by and is partly owned by me, Kris.

A/N: This is my "girl in Tortall" ficlet. Before you sigh in disgust and stop reading, let me just say that this was written in response to the other "girl(s) in Tortall" fics out there. I'm not claiming to have read all of them--far from it, as I was only able to read about five or so. But in most of them I found something lacking. This is my answer to that, my way to fill up all the empty holes.

Don't worry. Dai isn't planning on taking over Tortall with her magical mystical powers and making everything and everyone fall in love with her. I know perfectly well what a Mary-Sue is, and I'm not planning on taking it that far.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Lying in the grass, Dai sighed. _Locating the Andromeda constellation is futile_, she thought. _Must…do…something…_interesting_!_

Propping herself up on her elbows, Dai looked around, hoping to spot a sudden inspiration. Seeing nothing but perfectly manicured lawns, she groaned and dropped back down onto the ground. Staring blankly at the sky, she went over her options. _Hm…Continue to try and make shapes out of stars, or go inside. Stars, inside, stars…Oh forget it. I'm going inside._

Gathering up her star map and mapping utensils, Dai entered the house through the open backdoor, slamming it shut behind her with one foot. "Mom?" she called. "Dad?"

The answer that came back was, "Oh, honey, come see what you're brother has made from the cards! I swear, it looks exactly like the Eiffel Tower"

Dai's face darkened. "Sorry, I have to do more homework."

"Alright, dear! Oh, Kyle, isn't that amazing, our son…"

Trudging up the stairs, she dumped her things on her desk. Snatching up her worn copy of Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce, Dai went over to her bed, letting herself fall face-forward. She lay like that for about five minutes before turning over to stare at the ceiling with another sigh. Holding up the book, she whispered, "Maybe _you_ can entertain me for a while, Daine."

Opening it to the first page, Dai began to read.

__

Each year, at the end of March, a great fair was held in Cria, the capital of Galla…

~*~

An hour later, Dai looked up from her book at the sound of laughter.

"Nicolas, how did you get the cards to lean like that?" she heard her father ask.

"I was very, very careful."

"Mm, honey, you're wonderful!"

"Thanks, Mom."

Dai lowered her book slowly, and she knew that her parents were hugging her little brother. She missed getting hugs from them—but she had been a teenager for two years, and no teenager in their right mind went up to their parents and asked for a _hug_. Besides, they didn't mind hugging a ten-year-old boy in her place.

Suddenly angry, Dai grabbed one of her pillows and hurled it across the room at the door, and it was soon followed by two others. It was only when she reached for her last pillow, her fingers hooked into claws, that she realized that throwing things and breaking her door wasn't the way to handle things. Slowly, she closed her eyes and switched back into neutral. The transition from simply drifting to sleep was so gradual, she didn't even realize it was happening. She never felt herself fall.

~*~

**__**

"Dad?"

"Is she going to be alright?"

"The doctor said that she…she might not be."

Mom? Dad? Nicolas? Why are you crying?

****

"But…"

"If they can keep her stable, she might just stay in a coma for the rest of her life. I…That's our daughter, and I don't know what to do!"

As the voices faded, she was gradually surrounded by far different sounds. Chickens, mothers calling after their children playing in the street, people haggling over prices. Dai opened her eyes and found herself sitting on a crate in an alley, leaning against a wall. Looking to her right, she saw the entrance of the alleyway, people scurrying back and forth in front of it, not paying any mind to the fifteen year old. _Corus_, she thought, and immediately knew she was right. After all, she had dreams about the city all the time.

There was a soft rustling, and it felt like something was crawling all over her body. Quickly looking down for fear of it being bugs, all Dai saw was a rusty-red peasant top and a long, worn skirt. Standing, she lifted the skirt slightly to find herself wearing soft, calf-high boots, and as she turned to walk out the alley, she felt the large hoop earrings gently hit the side of her face. Reaching the crowded street, Dai took a deep breath. _Corus_, she thought again, smiling as all thoughts of her parents and her brother drifted away. _I'm home_.

As she strolled casually through the market, Dai looked this way and that, trying to take everything in at once. Spotting a jewelry stand, she made her way over to it. As she sifted through the cheaper section, someone bumped into her and she turned to look at the older boy who had been hurrying past. "Hey!"

He grinned apologetically, tipped his head slightly, and ran off again.

Dai glared after him, and reached for the pouch at her belt so that she could pay for a lovely pendant she had found. It wasn't there. Her head snapped up and she saw the boy disappear around a corner. "Hey!" she shouted again, this time louder, and immediately took off after him. "Get back here!" Pushing past people, she turned the corner, and stopped when she saw him glance around. Moving behind a crockery stand, she watched as he slipped into the building with a smug smirk. As soon as he was out of sight, Dai made her way as fast as she could without attracting attention to the door. Paying no mind to the sign above the door that proclaimed it was an Inn, she yanked the door open and entered. Looking around the room, eyes narrowed, Dai finally located the young man taking a seat at the bar. "You!" she snapped loudly, pointing at the boy, who turned with a startled look on his face. He grinned at her as she wound her way between the tables, before jumping up and making a mad dash for the doorway.

Dai made a frustrated noise, and began to pick up her pace, but another boy of about 19 slammed his hand across the doorway the thief was trying to escape through. "You got caught, James," he told the frightened teenager. "You pay for it."

The thief—now identified as James—turned to face Dai. "Lady?"

Ignoring the other boy, she held out a hand. "I'm not a lady, idiot. Give me back my purse."

"You're right," he told her, reaching into his shirt and producing the stolen item. "A Lady would have more coin."

Taking her belonging back, she shook her head. "It's not my fault you picked the wrong person to rob."

Holding a hand over his heart, James gave her a hurt expression. "I wasn't robbing you, I was just borrowing a little."

"You don't sound nervous for someone who's about to be hauled before the law."

He looked startled, then gulped. "I-I wasn't aware you was going to take it that far."

Dai was silent for a while, giving him some time to think over what would happen if she _did_ decide to take it that far. "Lucky for you," she finally said, "I'm feeling generous today. I know you have to make a living." Remembering something quickly, she added, "Tell your King—or Queen—not to bother me. Next one who steals from me is going straight to them that need to know; and if I don't catch them right away, I will _hunt_ them down, and then go straight for the source."

James's eyes darted slightly to the side, before he inclined his head. "The Rogue'll know faster than you can say twice." Then, he ran off.

Turning to the boy that had stopped James from escaping, Dai smiled. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Don't think about it twice. I'm Roald," he introduced himself, holding out a hand.

She hesitated, before taking it with another small smile. "Dai."

"Dai," he repeated, withdrawing his hand from hers. "Is that short for something?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I've a talent for that sort of thing. What's your full name?"

"Leudedai."

He bowed slightly. "Pleasure to meet you."

She inclined her head much the same way James had. "And I you."

Roald motioned to an empty table. "Why don't we sit for a while."

"Alright. So, how did you come to be named after a King?" she asked, sliding into her seat.

He gave her an odd look. "Most kids your age don't know King Jonathan's father was named Roald."

Dai thought through her knowledge of King Roald from her books and quickly made up a lie. "Oh, my mother used to go on about how King Roald was more peaceful than King Jonathan. Are you peaceful?"

"Moderately." Roald smirked. "Are you loveable?"

"Moderately," she mimicked.

"What was your mother's name?"

Dai smiled, and decided to play a harmless little joke—he wouldn't understand it, after all. "Tamora Pierce."

Roald stared at her. "_The_ Tamora Pierce?!"

Dai blinked. _What? Does he really know about her?_ Just to play it safe, she answered, "Oh, I was just kidding. My mother was a back-country seamstress." Getting curious as to how he would know about an author from her world, Dai casually continued, "We didn't get much news. I don't even know how long it was after King Roald's death that she even got word of it, so I don't really know about this Tamora Pierce. What's the deal with her?"

"Well. She was in the King's inner circle, and she had a lot of pull in dealings of the kingdom." He leaned back in his chair. "She had magic, strong magic it was said. Some people even say that she traveled between worlds."

Dai smiled. What an interesting dream this was turning out to be!


End file.
